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Today, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners received the District’s proposed 2026 budget. The $637.6 million spending plan which closes a projected $30 million gap deficit by focusing on three principles: finding efficiencies, generating sustainable new revenue, and investing in one-time resources responsibly. The 2026 budget makes targeted investments that advance the District’s Strategic Plan’s six goals and invest in youth and teens, accessibility and special recreation, sustainability, public safety and community wellbeing.

Chicago Park District General Superintendent and CEO Carlos Ramirez-Rosa presented the 2026 budget recommendations to the Board. The $637.6 million budget is a fiscally responsible plan that reflects a 6.5% increase from the previous year to address. Highlights of the proposed budget include targeted use of the $46 million anticipated TIF surplus to invest in the District’s pension and capital funds, including a $5 million capital investment to create Chicago Grows Together, a new fund that directs resources to deferred maintenance and equitable infrastructure solutions for parks on Chicago’s South and West Sides.

The proposed budget also invests $1.75 million in the Special Recreation Fund to expand adaptive sports, inclusion support, and ADA accessibility improvements including an elevator modernization. Moreover, the 2026 expands Young Cultural Stewards Teen programming, Lifeguard Explorers Training Program, allocates $250 thousand to replace lost Night Out in the Parks grant funding.  The budget also increases staffing by nearly 15 full-time equivalent positions, supports technological and sustainability upgrades, and strengthens partnerships with sister agencies to increase public safety and community wellness.

Residents can view the Chicago Park District’s 2026 budget recommendations online at the Annual Budget Process page. Park District Board of Commissioners will vote on the 2026 budget recommendations during its regular monthly meeting on December 10th.  

“The Chicago Park District’s 2026 budget supports our commitment to provide every Chicagoan with affordable programs, and access to exceptional experiences in safe, beautiful, and welcoming public spaces, while protecting the Park District’s fiscal health and ensuring we can continue serving the millions of Chicagoans who depend on our parks every day,” said General Superintendent and Chief Executive Officer, Carlos Ramirez-Rosa. “This budget closes that $30 million deficit without layoffs, service cuts, or one-time fixes by focusing on three principles: finding efficiencies, generating sustainable new revenue, and investing one-time resources responsibly. The 2026 budget does not merely preserve what we have; it builds upon it, making targeted investments in special recreation, teens, sustainability, public safety, pension and capital that advance our Strategic Plan’s six goals: Exceptional Experiences, Community Wellbeing, Parks for All, A Greener City, Effective Operations, and Leading Employer.”

During the regular monthly meeting which followed the budget presentation, the Board authorized the District to enter into an agreement with Booth Hansen Ltd. to design and construction administrative services the new fieldhouse for Ogden Park, 6500 S. Racine.  The new fieldhouse will replace the existing deteriorated structure that dates back to the early 1900’s and no longer meets the needs of the West Englewood community. The fieldhouse design shall include a gymnasium, a dedicated boxing gym, fitness room, dance room, teen room and clubroom as well as support facilities including restrooms, storage, offices and utility rooms. Partial funding for the construction of the new Ogden Park fieldhouse is earmarked in the proposed 2026 budget and underscores the District’s commitment to prioritizing historically disinvested communities.

The Ogden Park fieldhouse design contract amount is not to exceed $1,649,343. The MBE/WBE participation for this contract is 32.47% MBE and 9.38% WBE participation, exceeding the Park District’s compliance goals.
 

The Board of Commissioners voted to approve updates to the rules for public participation in its monthly meetings. To promote equity in access and promote a diverse range of park related topics, the updated rules s may not register to speak at two consecutive meetings. The limitation is waived if an individual wishes to address a voting item listed on the agenda for the upcoming meeting. Additionally, the limitation is waived if fewer than the allotted number of speakers register for a meeting. The Office of the Board Secretary will notify individuals who sign up but are ineligible to speak at an upcoming meeting.

In addition, registered speakers who wish to submit printed documents to the Board must do so at least 30 minutes before the Board meeting begins. Hardcopy materials should be submitted in the form of 10 copies with the speaker’s first and last name clearly printed on the top right-hand corner of the document’s front page. Other rules changes include updates to the Board meeting schedule and location. The updated rules for board meeting participation can be found on the Park District’s website.

The Board approved changes to Chapter I to codify the Park District’s long-standing practice of requiring economic disclosure statements from parties seeking approval by the Board, the General Superintendent, and the Director of Purchasing pursuant to various chapters of the Code. The amendments align with the economic disclosure requirements set forth in the City of Chicago’s Municipal Code. vendors that wish to do business with both the Park District and the City of Chicago will have a more streamlined application process. Additionally, proposed changes include updates to Chapter III of the District’s Code to codify the existing practice that prohibits any Park District officer or employee from accepting Honoraria for participating in speaking engagements, lectures or discussion forums. These Code changes are effective immediately and are available to view online.

Following a 45-day public comment period initiated in September, the Board voted to officially rename Park #601, the Dunning Read Natural Area. The support of Alderman Nicholas Sposato; Illinois House Representative Lindsey LaPointe and numerous community members and stakeholders. The 20-acre park, located in the Dunning community in northwest Chicago features diverse native areas including prairies, wetlands, and woodlands. The natural area is a popular location for birding and supports a vibrant community of native plants.

The Park District Office of Inspector General delivered a presentation to the Board on the District’s Ineligible for Rehire (IFR) designation. The OIG brought forth recent updates to that provide clarity on the designation and processes. Changes include language that explicitly defines the conduct and situations that result in an IFR designation; the introduction of a formal process to notify former employees at the time of separation from the District and a formal appeal process for individuals who wish to have their IFR designation removed.

The Park District has implemented procedural changes to review existing IFR designations prior to the updated policy. The Park District Human Resources is proactively sending former employees on the IFR list the appeal form if it is unclear if the individual would have received the designation under the updated policy. The District also has removed IFR designations for seasonal employees who received the designation only as a result of a poor performance evaluation, but maintained the designation for seasonal employees who otherwise would have received the designation under the 2025 Policy.

“The District strives to be a leading employers as outlined in our Strategic Plan,” said Chicago Park District General Superintendent and CEO Carlos Ramirez-Rosa. “In an effort to align with this goal and ensure the District’s employment opportunities are available to all qualified and interested candidates, we performed the audit to understand the existing ineligible for rehire designations. We found that 80% of the designations among seasonal employees did not meet the updated standards thus removing those IFR designations. Those residents are now eligible for seek employment and contribute to the livelihood of their families, the District and the communities we serve.”

The Board also heard a presentation on the Park District’s partnership with Bears Care, the Chicago Bears 501(c)(3). The not-for-profit supports the long-standing Junior Bears and Inner-City Flag Football programs offered in parks throughout the city. There are more than 2000 boys and girls, ranging in age from 8 to 17 participating in these programs annually. In addition to learning the game of football, athletes gain confidence and learn valuable lessons in discipline, resilience, teamwork and the importance of healthy living. Junior Bears recently celebrated their 76th Mum Bowl, the championship game played at Soldier Field. During the presentation, Board and Park District celebrated the Loyola Park Dolphins which proclaimed victory over the Kelvyn Park Hurricanes. Witness the positive impact the Park District and Bears Care partnership has on the players, families, coaches and staff in For the Love of the Game.

Other agenda items include the approval of one-year extensions on contracts with Clauss Brothers for garden maintenance services at Osaka Garden in Jackson Park and Stone Group Inc. for District-wide power rodding and sewer cleaning services. The Board also authorized the District to participate in the City of Chicago’s contract with Enterprise Fleet Management for leasing cars and light duty trucks.  

The Park District also selected Jim Harney, Senior Project Manager as delegate and Rebecca Brandtman, Deputy Director of Program as alternate delegate for the Illinois Association of Park Districts.

In-person and virtual public forums and online form offer residents an opportunity to get involved in the 2026 budget planning process and provide valuable input

Today, the Chicago Park District announced three ways Chicagoans can participate in shaping the District’s 2026 year budget. The District will host an in-person and a virtual budget forum and offer an online form that residents can use to share their ideas on the 2026 spending plan. 

“Chicago residents are our most valuable stakeholders and their input is vital to our work in allocating funds to best meet the needs of our parks and patrons,” said Chicago Park District General Superintendent and CEO Carlos Ramirez- Rosa. “We are offering three options for the public to take part in the Park District’s budget process and look forward to hearing from patrons but also doing the collective work of strengthening our parks in the coming year.”

The Park District will host an in-person public budget forum on Monday, September 22, 2025 at 6 p.m. at the Chicago Park District headquarters/ Park No. 596 at 4830 S. Western Avenue. Registration begins at 5 p.m. and the forum begins promptly at 6 p.m. 

The online public forum is scheduled for Thursday, September 25, 2025 at 6 p.m. Attendees may log-in at 5:30 p.m. using the meeting link here. Upon joining, participants will be placed in a waiting room before being admitted at 6 p.m. 

As a third option, the Park District is also offering an online form that Chicagoans can fill out and submit their input. The form can be found here. Results from both forums and the online form will be taken into account during the planning process of the 2026 budget. 

During the forums, the Park District will deliver a brief presentation followed by timed public comments. 

For more information about the annual budget process, patrons can visit www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/annual-budget-process.

Green open spaces and natural areas are essential to enhancing the beauty and wellbeing of our people and communities; taking stock of our efforts informs how we move forward building a greener city with a commitment to education, partnership and collaboration

Today, the Chicago Park District announces the release of its first ever sustainability report, “Parks Are Making Chicago a Greener City”. The report highlights the important role parks play in advancing the environmental health of the city and the District’s efforts to responsibly manage and preserve vital natural resources for the current and future generations.

The sustainability report is guided by the District’s 2025-20230 Strategic Plan, a blueprint for the future of parks. The plan was developed through a robust public engagement process that identified the needs and concerns of park stakeholders, reaffirmed the importance of sustainability, and challenges the District to evaluate its existing greening efforts and to do more to reduce its environmental footprint.  As articulated in the Strategic Plan, “The Chicago Park District’s mission is to give people of all ages, identities, and abilities access to quality recreation, wellness opportunities, and sustainable green spaces in every neighborhood.”

“The Parks Are Making Chicago A Greener City! We are excited to develop and share the District’s first sustainability report, which underscores the great work we are doing to support sustainable practices in every neighborhood” said Chicago Park District General Superintendent and CEO Rosa Escareño. “We are extremely proud of the work we’ve accomplished and continue to perform, like establishing and caring for natural areas, supporting biodiversity, protecting our robust tree canopy and creating opportunities for residents to actively immerse themselves in nature. As the guardians of Chicago parks, we carry the privilege and great responsibility of making thoughtful decisions that leave our parks, communities and city in better shape and greener than we inherited them.”

Among the Park District’s accomplishments that continue to move the needle on sustainability and are highlighted in the report include:  

Operating and Building Responsibly 

The Chicago Park District manages more than 600 parks and more than 250 fieldhouses throughout the city, making new capital investments annually with sustainability top of mind.  

• Each year, the District purchases energy credits equaling 100% of its electricity consumption to support sustainable energy sources.  
• Ongoing efforts to convert park light fixtures to energy-efficient LED bulbs to reduce energy consumption. To date, the District has converted 41% of its light fixtures district-wide along with indoor fixtures at over 100 park fieldhouses.  
• Installing user-activated drinking fountains and spray features throughout our parks, replacing older features that ran continuously to reduce water consumption.
• Collects stormwater in rain barrels to maintain some park gardens, reducing the District’s water consumption.  
• Reuse wood from removed storm-damaged and diseased trees for mulch, lumber and nature play space components.
• Reducing waste by banning Styrofoam at park concessions and permitted events and minimizing paper use by digitizing internal business operations.  
• Use of alternative biodiesel blends, made from used restaurant oil, to fuel trucks and maintenance equipment including lakefront mowers, tractors and beach groomers. In addition, several District refuse trucks now run on 100% biodiesel, which is carbon neutral and reduces the amount of particulate air pollution that is harmful for people with respiratory health issues.
   

Caring for Nature in the City 

Among the largest park systems in the county and the city’s leading greening agency, the Park District is responsible for nearly 9,000 acres of parkland including almost 2,000 acres of nature areas representing diverse habitats, 26 miles of lakefront, 16 lagoons and a District-wide our robust tree canopy in addition to thousands of flowers, shrubs and native plantings. 

• As the city has little to no remnants of native habitat, the Chicago Park District has actively established natural areas, namely prairies, savannas, woodlands, wetlands, and dunes, by planting a wide variety of native plants, shrubs, and trees while simultaneously controlling the weeds and invasive species that have crept in over time. The maintenance of natural areas is an ongoing task in an urban environment, where the pressures include exacerbated climate change impacts, air pollution, surrounding hard infrastructure, and human use. In such a context, Chicago Park District believes the presence of nature is powerful, for it can provide much needed respite for both wildlife and people.
• In 2018, the Park District removed the city’s last remaining dam at the confluence of the North Shore Channel and the North Branch of the Chicago River, restoring habitat connectivity for fish and other wildlife.  
• As a result of the installation of water control structures on the southeast side, the Park District staff can lower and raise the water levels at these sites, which have long lost their ability to function as natural hemi-marshes after years of industrial dumping and surrounding development.  
• Among the District’s most impactful investments is the transformation of unutilized brownfields into vibrant greenspaces; most notably La Villita Park, which is now a thriving 21-acre, community gathering space in South Lawndale and Park 596, the 17-acre campus that houses the District’s administrative office and park fieldhouse in Brighton Park.  

 
Promoting Environmental Stewardship Through Education and Experiences 

Ensuring the current and future environmental strength of our parks and city is a collective effort. The District is committed to increasing engagement, whether it’s welcoming and collaborating with residents, corporate groups, researchers and cultivating the future generation of stewards through volunteerism and play. 

• In 2024, more than 83,000 individuals participated in park environmental education programs and events.  
• More than 3,500 volunteers completed 20,000 hours of stewardship work in parks in 2024. Each year, thousands of volunteers give their time and energy to help care for our parks, gardens and natural areas.
• The Park District has prioritized connecting people with nature. Investments in eco-recreation parks like Big Marsh on the city’s far South Side and Steelworkers Park in the South Chicago community. Both these spaces encourage active recreation and play amidst nature.  
• The District has constructed 16 nature play spaces in parks across the city. These areas feature natural elements like mud kitchens, reclaimed wood and other natural elements that encourage environmental awareness and appreciation.  
• In 2024, the Park District launched the Plants and Pollinators Program, which brought  
• elementary school students and their teachers from nearby public schools to Big Marsh Park for a series of field trips and workshops focused on the life cycle of native plants and the intersection with various pollinating insects.
• In efforts to expand its educational outreach, the Park District’s environmental education staff travels across the city to deliver environmental programs and educational experiences to neighborhood parks across the city. Activities include paddling, fishing, camping, stargazing, and guided nature walks.  

 
Partnering to Increase Our Impact 

As the city’s motto “Urbs in Horto” indicates, Chicago truly is a City in a Garden. While we take great pride in the work we do to care for our green spaces, we cannot do it alone. The Park District’s success in building a sustainable park system would not be possible without the robust partnerships with sister city agencies, research institutions and community-based groups, working to advance sustainability and resilience across the city. 

• The Park District’s workforce is vital to ensuring our greenspaces continue to thrive amidst global warming and Chicago parks’ diverse and extensive landscapes are living laboratories that professional researchers and citizens alike are eager to investigate. In 2024, there were 107 active research projects in parks. Research findings help make new discoveries in optimizing sustainability efforts and improves day-to-day park operations.
• The District maintains strong working relationships with partnering organizations equally committed to sustainability, like the Chicago Wilderness Alliance and the Morton Arboretum, to strengthen and further its efforts. The Park District is currently working with colleagues from Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and others to expand native habitat on the Museum Campus.
• The Park District’s use of diesel fuel alternatives and work towards long-term environmental resiliency is part of the city’s broader sustainability efforts. Chicago’s 2022 Climate Action Plan is set to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 62% by 2040.
• The Park District also helps implement the City’s Sustainable Development Policy, which guides sustainable construction practices as well as the River Ecology and Governance Task and Our Roots Chicago’s Tree Ambassador Program which focus on the preservation of natural assets. 
   

Looking ahead, the Park District will develop a Sustainability Plan that identifies areas where we can continue to improve our operations, articulates our goals, and sets metrics to measure our progress. This plan will help guide future investments of time and resources as we continue in our work to make Chicago a greener city. 

View the Sustainability Report and learn more.